PHILADELPHIA — Walking into the Mets clubhouse Friday afternoon, you’d never know the team was in the midst of the worst losing streak of the season. A new city and a new day brings another change to snap that six-game winless streak.
The unofficial motto of the team seems to be that it only takes one. One win to turn things around, one big hit to change a game and one big arm on the mound. It’s easy to forget about bad losses when you have another game to play 24 hours later.
But since losing arguably their biggest arm in Kodai Senga a week ago, the Mets aren’t hiding the fact that the atmosphere has changed. Whatever they accomplished without the right-handed ace last year is in the past. This year, they lost Senga at a time when they were rolling, and a few days later, lost Tylor Megill as well.
The pitching staff has all but fallen apart since then, giving up 41 runs over six games.
“There is no question that you lose a part of your identity as a team when you don’t have Kodai going out there as your guy every 5-6 days,” said outfielder and team leader Brandon Nimmo. “But I can’t say that we’re the only team that’s experienced that. The Dodgers have probably experienced it way worse than us.”
The Mets have been incredibly lucky when it comes to the health of their starting pitchers compared to the Dodgers, who could practically field an All-Star team of injured arms. While the Mets lost their ace and a back-end starter, the Dodgers have lost all of that and more.
“You still have to go out and find ways to win,” Nimmo said. “But it does hurt. There is no question about that.”
It’s as if the injuries to Senga and Megill took the wind out of the Mets’ sails.
Coming into the weekend series against the Philadelphia Phillies, the two teams are tied for first place, but before the losing streak began last Friday night, the Mets were four games up on their NL East rivals. They were cruising. A few players noted that when one player catches fire, they all seem to follow, and it’s the same when one or two guys start to go cold. The rest of the team goes cold as well.
The loss of Senga froze the vibes.
“You’re definitely aware of it,” Clay Holmes said after taking a loss in Atlanta on Thursday night. “Especially with the pitchers they are — they’re really good pitchers. There’s no denying that. It’s tough losing them, but at the same time, we’ve got to believe in the guys we have, and do all we can to be the best versions that we are. The guys that step up for them, we need to do all we can to be there for those guys…”
“There’s a lot of faith in what we can put out there.”
So, the Mets pitching staff will look to build the momentum they lost this week. Rookie right-hander Blade Tidwell will try to give the Mets the shot in the arm they need Friday night. Next week, Frankie Montas will make his long-awaited Mets debut. The right-hander will make his first big league start Tuesday night at Citi Field after a lengthy rehab from a lat strain he suffered during spring training. Left-hander Sean Manaea, his former A’s teammate and a key member of the 2024 rotation, isn’t far behind in his rehab from an oblique strain.
The Mets aren’t trying to sugarcoat the fact that Montas did not show well in his minor league rehab assignment, putting up a 13.19 ERA in seven starts between High-A and Triple-A. They have the pitching coaches working with him on some mechanical issues ahead of his Tuesday start, and the major league staff, including manager Carlos Mendoza and pitching coaches Jeremy Hefner and Desi Druschel, will watch his bullpen Saturday when he throws at Citizens Bank Park.
So, the page is turned on a bad week and a bad stretch of games. Senga’s injury isn’t major and two starters are set to return soon. They’ll need more than just the pitching staff to put some separation between the other teams in the division, and it only takes one win to start a streak.
“Kodai is an amazing, amazing pitcher,” Nimmo said. “But I’m looking forward to Sean Manaea getting back and same with Montas. Those are great guys, and great pitchers who have a great track record. So those are positive things to look forward to.”
